Christmas
is a yearly holiday when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and
many families exchange Christmas gifts. It is celebrated on December
25th.
There
are many holiday traditions including Christmas dinner, sending
Christmas cards, visiting Santa, baking Christmas cookies and making
homemade Christmas candies. Homes are decorated inside and out with
colorful lights and holiday decorations. People usually try to spread
goodwill, compassion and peace during the Christmas holiday season.
Some
countries celebrate on Christmas Eve, others on both Christmas Eve
and Christmas day. Tradition in our home dictated that the tree stay
up until “Little Christmas”, January 6th. One church, the
Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on January 6th.
Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7th. The
date is just a tradition and is not considered to be Jesus’ actual
birth date.
The
word "Christmas" actually comes from two words: Christ's
mass. Many of the seasons decorations lead back to Christ's birth
such as Nativity scenes or managers, star ornaments and the giving of
gifts.
Christmas
day during the Middle ages was more of a festival. King William I of
England chose Christmas Day to be crowned king in 800.
During
the Reformation, Protestants condemned the celebration of Christmas
as mere trappings, while Catholics promoted the festival as a
religious event.
Colonial
America saw the Puritans disapproving of the trappings of the
Christmas celebration and it was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to
1681. However, Christian residents of Virginia and New York
celebrated the holiday.
Charles
Dickens' book "A Christmas Carol", published in 1843, did
much to revive the holiday that was to instill goodwill and
compassion. Washington Irving also wrote short stories about
Christmas and the “Twas the Night Before Christmas” poem by
Clement Clarke.
There
was great controversy in the 20th century over the nature of
Christmas (was it a religious holiday or was it a secular holiday).
The issue was brought to trial several times to decide because of the
view that a federal holiday was a violation of separation of church
and state. On December 6th, 1999, the verdict for Ganulin vs. United
States declared that "the establishment of Christmas Day as “a
legal public holiday does not violate the Establishment Clause
because it has a secular purpose.” This decision was later upheld
on December 19, 2000 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Many Christians
believe the holiday has become too secular and it is common to hear
cries of “getting back to the true meaning of Christmas”, around
the holidays.
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